Funds, Good for Business, Investments, Lithuania, Markets and Companies

Photo: freor.com

Freor is witnessing record growth and reached revenue of 36 mln euros last year as frozen food offerings in stores expand. The company is a technology leader in an industry focused on sustainability and climate-change goals, Livonia Partners said in a press release.

Livonia Partners said it was making the investment to support the producer of sustainable commercial refrigeration equipment scale and meet growing international demand. Freor supplies commercial refrigeration solutions to top retailers and supermarket chains across Europe and beyond.

"We have maintained a relationship with Freor for over five years and always believed it to be a great company given its market positioning. The outgoing investor contributed greatly to the company's vision and it is now Livonia's turn to further develop another export-oriented manufacturer in the Baltics, an area of focus and expertise for Livonia," said Mindaugas Utkevicius, a founding partner at Livonia. "Freor fits perfectly within our investment strategy and we cannot wait to begin work with the company."

Accession Mezzanine Capital invested in Freor in 2015 to support an ownership change. It was their first investment in the Baltics.

"During our time with Freor the company refined its industry-leading product offering and successfully launched it across numerous international markets. We are proud that we could support the business in this transformation," said Piotr Sadowski, senior investment director at Mezzanine Management.

Rytis Bernatonis, Freor's founder, majority owner and CEO, said that the company now exports about 90% of the refrigeration equipment manufactured by it. Western Europe and the Nordic regions are its biggest markets with CIS countries, the Middle East, Asia and South Africa also a focus.

"We are equally very excited to have Livonia as our partner for the next growth stage focused on capacity expansion, process optimization and global market penetration," Bernatonis said.

The investment in Freor is the fifth for Livonia Partners Fund I, whose strategy is to invest in medium-sized companies in the Baltics that are professionally-managed and growing. In 2016 it acquired Ha Serv, an Estonia-based thermowood and sauna materials manufacturer, and Hortes, Estonia’s leading home and gardening retail brand, and in 2017 invested in IT network and security firm Santa Monica Networks in Latvia and Lithuania as well as in Cgates, a Lithuanian provider of cable television and internet services.